From: Ken Flanagan (kenflan@raex.com)
Date: Thu Mar 21 2002 - 16:21:35 CST
Calvin,
I did Itinerary 24 in 1982. It is the same trip as listed in the 89 PEAKS
book. You made me go scrambling for my 82 PEAKS to see if it was the same I
had 9 people including myself. This was "back in the day" when leadership
was one deep.I was able to hand pick the crew from the older boys in the
council contingent. Five of us were Philmont veterans and three were from my
unit, but everyone knew what they were in for and we were prepared for it.
We never skipped program at any camp if we were able to get there in time
for it. Yes, we spent a lot of time hiking, but I have to say it was one of
the more memorable of my 10 trips to the ranch. I have absolutely nothing
good to say about the Ranger we had other than he was alive and breathing.
It is my only trip out there where the Youth couldn't wait to get rid of the
Ranger. It was my first trip there with bad weather (4th overall) without
any sun until we hit Santa Claus camp. After that, it was perfect. It was
the first and only time I ever lost a bear bag. It was put up correctly in
the "old style"and was 15-20 ft high, but the bear climbed the tree and tore
the branches down. The bag was still 5 ft off the ground but it was low
enough to tear a hole in it. Boy, can they ever make a mess. I am still
using that same bear bag. It was also my live first bear sighting. We were
cooking breakfast (yes we really had to cook breakfasts) at Black Horse when
a yearling wandered into camp undetected. The youth had a better time
watching my excitement than watching the bear. We climbed Baldy at night
under a clear sky and full moon, (a lot of rules have changed) and were up
there before sunrise. Sunrise from Baldy is an incredible experience that
one can never forget. We had the crap scared out of us at Cottonwood when a
pack of coyotes decided to visit our camp about midnight. This was one tough
trip, but my crew was prepared and well trained. We had a great time and
great memories. I'm sorry for rambling on like this, but Calvin's note
sparked some good memories.
Ken Flanagan
Philmont X 10
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